Xbox 720 limelight at GamesCom 2013

Sony may have made the first move this year with their PS4 reveal in February, but we have yet more evidence that suggests that Microsoft are going to be bringing the fight to Sony in a big way. We have already told you about three next-gen Xbox events that are due in the next few weeks, but now we have confirmation that the company will also be bringing their upcoming console to GamesCom 2013 as well, in August.

To recap, you won’t need us to tell you that the first big hitter will take place on May 21, when Microsoft will officially reveal the next generation Xbox console that they have secretly been working on since the Xbox 360. After that, attentions will then switch over to a pre-E3 event, which has already been penciled in on Monday June 10.

Microsoft will then have another showing at E3 after Sony has wrapped up their press conference on Tuesday June 11, presumably giving lucky attendees and those watching on a live stream, a glimpse at the software titles that they hope will entice consumers into a purchase.

If that wasn’t enough, we now bring you confirmation that Microsoft will also be returning to GamesCom this year. The company was absent in 2012, but now Microsoft are planning to unveil the “next chapter of Xbox gaming experiences” at the event in Cologne, Germany which takes place between August 21 and August 25.

So what can we expect to see at the event? Most likely the topics that Microsoft wanted to show at E3, but didn’t have enough time to squeeze into their E3 press conference since time is limited as we all know. That could mean an extended software reel and other gameplay demos.

We’re really hoping that Microsoft save some exclusive IPs to be revealed at GamesCom though, rather than E3 – that would certainly make the event worthwhile for those planning to make the trip to Germany.

We definitely can’t blame Microsoft for a lack of next-gen Xbox marketing, can we?